The Second Stallion
by Ironneko
Summary: The Nekoken goes a little differently this time, and Ranma receives a visit from a certain millionaire that will change his life forever. Xover with Saint Seiya. ch3 is now up
1. The Awakening of the Winged Horse

The Second Stallion  
  
By Raziel  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, (and I'm not sure whether that's totally original either). Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi. Saint Seiya is owned by Masami Kurumada.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thoughts  
  
Prologue: The Awakening of the Winged Horse  
  
*********************  
  
Many things could be said about martial arts. They are an effective tool for tempering the spirit, strengthening the mind and enforcing the discipline needed to unlock an individual's maximum potential. Much of the process depends on the teacher or, as the japanese call them, sensei. Some of them, each grandmasters of their own unique art, could bend the laws of reality to their will and perform feats that defied human comprehension. Others...  
  
"Come on boy, get in there. No son of mine is going to be afraid of a few cats."  
  
Others were not even worthy to be considered martial artists. This particular sensei fit the profile quite nicely. A powerful warrior by his own account, Genma Saotome was not known particularly due to his reasoning skills. Master of one of the only two existing branches of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, deemed by many as the most versatile fighting style in existence, Genma was a ruthless trainer. Especially with his six year old son, Ranma. He had already been all over Japan, familiarizing the young boy with the most brutal training exercises and exposing him to life-threatening techniques. However, none of these compared to the ordeal Ranma was facing at this time.   
  
"Don't put me back in the pit pops! Don't do it! Please! I don't wanna go back in there!"  
  
Ranma was no coward. He was, in fact, a daredevil. He jumped at the chance of a new technique at every chance he got and never backed down from a challenge. That all changed after the initial exposure to the cat fist. The encounter had shattered his former level of confidence and introduced a new element into his life. One he had not felt ever before. Fear.  
  
With a mighty yank, the lid to the hole was opened once again, and the fat martial artist peeked inside. An overpowering scent of urine and feces escaped the small chasm as the odor of the accumulated waste escaped from within. "Ranma, quit your whining and act like a man. Now, in you go." With those words, the bald man threw his son into the pit and dropped the reinforced steel plate back where it was, effectively reducing any chance of ecaping to nil.  
  
Ranma's head was spinning wildly. The combination of the disgusting smells from within, coupled with that of the fish sausages that were firmly attached to his gi caused a feeling of disorientation in the mind of the frightened young boy. Even in the pitch black darkness he could feel the small felines crawling nearer and nearer. Craving the food all over the pigtailed trainee.  
  
Once again, the fear began to take a hold over his senses, overflowing each and every one of them until all he could do was sit wrapped around himself tightly. He could just feel his sanity begin to slip away as control was slowly stripped from him. All of a sudden, a strange calm invaded him as he found himself thinking back towards a couple of weeks ago, in an old temple near the outskirts of Hokkaido.  
  
The old monk who run the place had taught Ranma a wide array of meditative and relaxation exercises which helped to increase his control over the destructive forces he had just began to wield. He had a different philosophy than all of the other senseis he had been to. In fact, it was the only temple Ranma had ever seen that was based on Greek mythology and the study of the heavenly bodies. The monk did not try to force the boy to understand the flows of energy of the earth, or attract his interest with flashy uses of what others called ki or chi.   
  
"Ranma, deep within you lies the power of heroes from long ago. The same power that enabled fighters to destroy opposing armies with but a thought, and incinerate the heavens with a bare flicker of their hands. It is the energy of the microcosmos you hold inside. It is this power which allows you to communicate with your guardian constellation. The power of Cosmos." With those words, the priest pointed to a small cluster of stars in the skies above. Ranma had been drawn to that figure his entire life for some reason. Whenever he would get into a tight spot he would focus on those same thirteen stars and obtain the power needed to overcome any obstacle.  
  
Now it all came back to him. He would not surrender to this madness. He would overcome it with his power. He could feel the old master talking to him once again. "Concentrate Ranma. If you focus your energy and make your Cosmos burn you can accomplish anything!"  
  
'He's right, I can do this... Help me again, please.' A very faint blue glow appeared around the young boy as the cats just threw themselves at him all at once, eager to satisfy their hunger. Time seemed to slow down as the martial artist completed a complex set of hand motions. Finally stopping, he let loose all of his power in one mighty attack.  
  
"PEGASUS RYUSEIKEN!!!"  
  
The five peaks of Rozan, in China:  
  
The former Gold Saint, Dokho of Libra, sat in deep meditation. Still the unwilling slave of the Mesotameros technique, which forces the recipient to remain static through day and night, sitting through the most suffocating blazes and the most freezing rains, guarding the seal of the one hundred and eight Hades' Spectres. Suddenly, his eyes opened as he felt a power he had not felt in over a year and a half, more precisely, since he sent his astral form into Japan, in hopes of finding the Bronze Saint who would wear the Dragon Mantle. 'Ranma... It seems your power has finally been unleashed.'  
  
"Roshi?" a small voice asked.  
  
"Yes Shunrei, what is the matter?" replied the two hundred and forty seven year old master.  
  
"What was that?" inquired again the little girl of about five.  
  
"That Shunrei... was the awakening of a new Saint."  
  
Neko-ken training area, outskirts of Tokyo, Japan:  
  
With a tremendous explosion, that awoke Genma from the nap he took while waiting for his son to learn the "ultimate technique", the pit's lid was sent flying away and a column of light blue luminescence shot out from inside it. The explosion alerted two nearby police officers and Genma, who was painfully aware of his less-than-optimal standing with the law, quickly escaped the lot, as he reassured himself that he could just steal back his son from wherever they would place him, he had done so before.  
  
Hiro Tanaka had seen some pretty wild things while doing police work, he had once dealt with an escaped bear from the zoo and had even been forced to contain a possible riot with only five other agents. he believed that nothing would shock him. Imagine his surprise when he found a half-buried boy beneath hurt cats and fallen dirt. The boy appeared to be alright, but he wasn't about to take any chances.  
  
"Jinnai, quick! Call for an ambulance while I try to get him out of here." he told his partner, as he attempted to dig out the kid from the debris.  
  
Twenty three minutes later, Ranma was resting peacefully in a hospital bed. All of his vitals were being monitored and he was at no risk. The doctors believed he was mostly exhausted, both physically and mentally.   
  
While Ranma rested, a six year old girl approached his bed. She curiously looked him over before studying the equipment that surrounded the young boy. One of the nurses approached the violet-haired child and quickly tried to force her out.  
  
"What are you doing? Can't you see he needs rest? Now leave before I call security." she alerted the young girl.  
  
A kind, but commanding voice cut her off, "That won't be necessary miss. I can take over from here."  
  
The nurse was about to reply when she got a good look at the speaker, after which she immediately stopped short. "Mr. Kido... I'm sorry, I had no idea..."  
  
"It's of no consequence, don't worry about Saori, I'll watch her. Now could you please leave me alone with the patient. This is a matter of supreme importance." responded Mitsumasa Kido, head of the Kido foundation and current possesor of the Sagittarius Gold Mantle.  
  
The nurse muttered a quick apology and left in a haste, grateful that she hadn't found Mr. Kido in a bad mood. After she was gone the old man was left silently contemplating the young boy that lay before him. According to the authorities, the boy had no one to claim him, so he was deemed an orphan and as such, was qualified to join the foundation's group of "special youths". Children who were to be trained to become some of the most powerful warriors the world will ever see. The Bronze Saints, who will compete in a tournament for the Gold Mantle. There was only one problem. The Pegasus candidate had already been found and there was no way for both children to be assigned to the same Mantle. "So tell me, Ranma, what am I going to do with you?"  
  
******************  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
I believe this is the first pure Saint Seiya/Ranma fic out there (of course I could be very wrong). I just couldn't get this out of my head after watching and reading all of the Hades saga of Saint Seiya. Well, that coupled with the fact there re-transmitting the series here. I don't know whether I'll continue this one or not, but expect a couple of more chapters at least. I'll try to come up with a plot before even thinking of dumping this one. This fic will NOT have any of the NWC, at least not for now. Why? Well, simply because I don't want the, to be here. This fic will be far more focused on Saint Seiya than Ranma.  
  
To all my AGDM readers, I apologize. Life has been hard on me lately. My grandfather passed away recently and I've got finals now. However, the next chapter is more than halfway done and should be up soon, well... sooner than this anyway. I'm gonna need some pre-readers that are ready to contribute with constructive criticism for both of my fics. No more than five (and I've already saved a spot for someone who's been asking for it since day one). Don't expect any updates for the next two weeks though, I'm going on holydays to the Brazilian beaches with forty one of my best friends, man, will that be wild.  
  
Anyway, comments and flames, hell, anything is welcomed, e-mail me at ironneko@hotmail.com  
  
Ja ne... 


	2. The Steed Receives his Wings

The Second Stallion  
  
by RaZiel  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing... yet... (insert evil diabolical laugh...)  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thoughts  
  
Chapter 1: The Steed Receives his Wings  
  
The two rivals stood facing each other. The large feline, king of all beasts, stared impassively at his equine opponent. Carefully, he circled around the purple-clad warrior in hopes of finding an opening. However that is when the Unicorn made his move.  
  
Quickly springing into motion, Jabu delivered a series of lightning-quick blows as he closed the distance between himself and his chosen opponent, but the Lion merely shugged off the attack and retaliated with devastating punches of his own, forcing the other Saint to the ropes.  
  
The crowd erupted in cheers as the battle between Saints finally got underway.  
  
The orange hulk approached the downed fighter and began to unleash wave after wave of fists upon his rival's unprotected back, confident that the match was all but over. Unfortunately for him, he failed to properly assess his opponent and the devotion he felt towards the daughter of the man who had adopted him.  
  
As the blows kept coming down on him, the Unicorn Saint caught sight of a certain somebody in the audience. Suddenly, the tiredness seemed to disappear from his eyes completely as the fighter caught his second wind and an inevitable smirk appeared all over his face. With a tremendous effort, he manoeuvred out of the way from the incoming attack and launched his most powerful technique, the Unicorn Gallop.  
  
The crowd once again roared in acceptance as they witnessed the fall of the mighty Lion, one of the stronger ones in the Galactic Challenge organised by the Kido foundation.  
  
As his rival faltered, Jabu turned to face his admirers, the people who had been entranced by the dexterity and skill displayed by the Unicorn Saint. His victorious expression suddenly faded as he realized the auditorium had became silent. With a sense of dread he revolved his head in time to see his rival rise once more, his thirst for battle unquenched still.  
  
On the sidelines, several other Saints were watching the fight going on in the main arena.  
  
"Well, what do you know? He did manage to get back up after all... It seems he's stronger that I remember..." said the Andromeda Saint, whilst the nearly sentient chains wrapped around his arms generated a small static charge in response to the battle taking place a few feet away. "I might just end up fighting him after all..." a sad look adorned his features as Shun thought about the futility of it all. 'A tournament in order to win something that will enhace our destructive power, which in turn, will bring about more senseless violence...'  
  
"Come on Shun, you know Jabu won't lose against the Lion. He's always been one of the strongest of the bunch," said the Hydra Saint, "you know, alongside Seiya and your brother."  
  
'My brother...' not a day passed without Shun thinking about Ikki. He didn't know what had happened to him since that fateful day ten years past when he had taken his place and gone to train to Death Queen Island.  
  
'What happened to you Ikki?..'  
  
His musings were cut short as a commanding voice broke through his reverie.  
  
"Quiet you two, you're disturbing my concentration."  
  
Both Saints turned around to face the Dragon, who was apparently in a meditative state. Shiryu had never been particularly friendly before but it seemed his training had made him downright hostile towards other people. Besides he always tensed up whenever Seiya was mentioned so the other Saints assumed he had a bone to pick with the teen.  
  
Looking back towards the fight, Shun couldn't help but think about Mitsumasa Kido's selfishness. To take care of a group of orphans merely to have them become weapons of destruction... The Andromeda Saint felt disgusted. He directed an angered look towards the golden throne at the top of the coliseum.  
  
Sitting in said throne was a violet-haired woman overlooking the match.  
  
"Tatsumi?" she called out.  
  
"Yes, my mistress?" replied the bald servant, ever faithful to his lady.  
  
"Has the Pegasus Saint arrived yet?" enquired the adopted granddaughter of the late millionaire, Mitsumasa Kido.  
  
Tatsumi contemplated the question for a few moments before replying, "No word has been received of the Phoenix or Pegasus Saint. However we have been contacted by the Cygnus Saint, he has informed us he will be arriving late".  
  
Saori took some time to think about this fact. The battles had already started and three Saints were still missing? It was preposterous. What would her grandfather think about this? An errant thought slipped into her mind at that time.  
  
"What about my grandfather's... special project?"  
  
The tuxedo-clad man inwardly sighed before responding, he hated having nothing but bad news for his mistress. "No word has been received about him either. However, he should be arriving along with the Pegasus Saint, they were sent to the same place after all..." that last part had come out almost as a mumble. Why did she even care about that snotty kid? He didn't even form part of the original plan.  
  
There was a sudden explosion of cheers as the Unicorn Saint finally emerged victorious from the match and the crowd began chanting his name.  
  
"JABU!!! JABU!!! JABU!!!" was all that could be heard inside the stadium.  
  
"Fine, that will be all Tatsumi," she replied while standing to congratulate Jabu on his victory. She knew she could trust Tatsumi to handle those matters, however, her thoughts returned to a particular troublesome boy who she had been unable to tame in the past, no matter how she tried.  
  
'Seiya, where are you?..'  
  
Both fighters were evenly matched, neither of them had been able to land a single blow as of yet, but the stalemate wouldn't hold for long. Seiya was a trained fighter. Six years of staying at the Sanctuary had made sure of that. His skills had grown under the careful observation of his teacher and he was now a force to be reckoned with.  
  
However, not even he could keep up with his chosen opponent, a warrior the likes of which he had never seen before.  
  
While jumping over a low sweep, Seiya failed to predict the swing of his opponent's second leg, as he had propped himself onto his hands to gain leverage, and had managed to deliver a pretty powerful blow. The attack caught him right in the solar plexus and he experienced a momentary shortness of breath.  
  
A moment was all it took really.  
  
Before he knew what hit him, the pigtailed warrior was on top of him. Delivering punches that were strong enough to shatter solid rock. The assault lasted for a few more seconds until the pummeled teen was able to push his opponent away from him.  
  
Backing up, he cautiously studied the teenager who stood on the other side of the arena. Tall by any standards, his opponent measured around one point eighty six metres. The lean, athletic build disguised the power his blows carried.  
  
'Man,' Seiya thought to himself, 'this guy sure packs a punch.' He was slightly favouring his left side, and was almost certain that he had fractured a rib or two. He now understood how this stranger had defeated Cassius with such ease.  
  
When the giant had first laid eyes on his opponent he had laughed out loud and demanded a real challenge to the High Priest. He was quickly silenced after having his arm fractured with a level of speed that quickly caught Seiya's attention, as he sensed a faint emission of Cosmos coming from the smaller man. He was ensured of his opponent's effectiveness after Cassius lost his ear to a knife hand strike.  
  
He knew he was going to have to pull all the stops to defeat him and obtain the Pegasus Mantle. Mentally steeling himself, he began to draw out his Cosmos.  
  
The crowd went wild at the display of power. Seiya had began to glow with a bluish hue and was now making some strange hand motions. This development quickly caught the attention of two very particular female Saints.  
  
Shaina looked on in disbelief as this boy who still had no Mantle of his own traced the thirteen stars of the Pegasus constellation.  
  
'First that ...boy... defeats Cassius, and now this pipsqueak is drawing upon Cosmos?'  
  
To say that the Cobra Saint was pissed would have been an understatement. Her champion had been defeated by a teenager who had never been seen around the Sanctuary. She never would have predicted that a veritable unknown would wield such power, he had defeated the giant in a matter of minutes! There was also Seiya, he had always been nothing but a pushover, but now he was fighting like a man possessed.  
  
Marin was merely curious as to how the stranger would react to this development. The Eagle Silver Saint had seen Seiya's attack countless times before, so she was not concerned about it. She was, in fact, the trainer and instructor of the, so far, Pegasus wannabe. However, she had yet to see an opponent more formidable than that which her student was facing at the time.  
  
Said warrior stood still, watching the detailed figure that was being traced in the air. At first he just stared at it with an unreadable expression on his face. Then, he smiled.  
  
A powerful blue aura expanded from within the fighter's soul and became visible to the human eye. It was easily twice as impressive as Seiya's. Power was just oozing from it in waves, and had begun to permeate the arena. Then he began to weave the exact same pattern with his own arms.  
  
Marin was shocked into speechlessness. She had been absolutely certain that none of the other Pegasus candidates had mastered the use of Cosmos, much less knew the actual technique the previous Pegasus Saint had made his trademark.  
  
She knew that a fighter could not learn a move of a Cloth unless it was his or her destiny to become the Saint of that constellation. So unless the move was taught from master to student, such as Camus had done with Crystal, the Silver Saint, who had probably also taught the Diamond Dust to the next Cygnus Saint, even the thought of it was ridiculous.  
  
Most Mantles had that same type of heirarchy, she herself was what would be considered the next step after the Pegasus Cloth. She had been the one who taught Seiya the Ryuseiken after all.  
  
There was one other case similar to this but under totally different circumstances. The twin Gold Saints of Gemini, Kanon and Saga, were nothing like her charge and this "Ranma". Besides, they shared the use of a far more dreaded technique. The Galaxian Explosion.  
  
Seiya was so caught up in the buildup of his move that he failed to notice his opponent mirroring his moves and just attacked as soon as he was ready.  
  
"PEGASUS RYUSEIKEN!!!"  
  
A multitude of shooting stars erupted from within the teenager's body as he shot towards his opponent, almost invisible to the naked eye.  
  
The signature move of the Pegasus Saint, the Pegasus Ryuseiken was one of the most powerful moves the Bronze Saints had in their limited repartee. Every fighter who had trained at the Sactuary knew of its potential for greatness, after all, it had been the previous Pegasus Saint who had put an end to the Sacred War, over two hundred years before, whose only survivors had been the Libra and Aries Gold Saints. So, they were understandibly surprised after seeing Seiya pull it off.  
  
As the rain of blows approached him, the pigtailed warrior finally made a move.  
  
"PEGASUS SUISEI-"  
  
Suddenly, a chill went through his back as a powerful Cosmos made itself known to him for the briefest of instants. He instantly stopped his attack as he caught a flicker of gold from the corner of his eye. He averted his gaze momentarily and was able to view the outline of a man that seemed to be watching the battle impassively.  
  
An overwhelming explosion of pain caught him unawares as Seiya's attack finally hit home and the pigtailed fighter was pummeled by the multitude of blasts. He had forgotten about his opponent and, as a result of that, he'd also cut down on all defensive power, maximising the damage he received.  
  
He fell to his knees after receiving close to a thousand blows.  
  
'Damn it, I can't believe I forgot about Seiya's attack'. While turning to face his foe, who was still recovering from the effort of launching the special technique, he contemplated his options.  
  
'I think I can still pull off a Ryuseiken, however, I'll be too vulnerable if it misses'  
  
Once again, he began focusing his Cosmos in hopes of managing a retaliatory strike, the energy he had gathered previously having been dispersed into the environment. Wiping the small trail of blood that flowed from the side of his mouth, the teen began to stand.  
  
As his opponent rose to his feet, Seiya couldn't help but stare. 'What is this guy made of?' he desperately thought as he witnessed the teen who had been the recipient of his most powerful technique just shrug it off. His eyes widened alarmingly as he sensed the Cosmos buildup within him and he quickly summoned his own in order to brace himself against the imminent strike.  
  
He was surprised when the other fighter fell to his knees once again. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he quickly began making his way over to where his opponent had fallen.  
  
'Why can't I move' thought the kneeling man while attempting to stand. 'Something's holding me down... can't be... but there's no other explanation... this is Psychokinesis'  
  
He was familiar with the legendary power of the mind that enabled someone to do practically anything they desired. Rumours of teleportation and the ability to manipulate objects and people at a distance had reached his ears. However only a very select few were knoown to have this extraordinary gift, and they had all passed into history way before he was ever born. So who was holding him down?  
  
'Damn it, I can't lose. Ranma Saotome never loses!!!'  
  
With an almost inhuman effort, Ranma unleashed, once again, the power hidden deep within his soul as he fought against the mysterious energy that was determined to keep him down. A blazing corona appeared around the pigtailed teen as his Cosmos manifested in the visible range. The silence of the crowd at seeing the blatant display of spiritual strength was quickly replaced with the sound of the winds that rushed past as Ranma's battle aura grew in size.  
  
Finally, after an agonisingly long wait, he rose to his feet and stood in a fighting stance as he turned to look at his rival. 'I'm ready, there's nothing that will stop me no-'  
  
"PEGASUS RYUSEIKEN!!!"  
  
He was surprised to find his rival had buried a fist in his chest. He shouldn't have been, but he was nonetheless as Seiya, who was not one to pass such a promising opportunity, concentrated all of his remaining power into one final attack, which sent his opponent flying into a nearby column. The last thought to go through the battered fighter's mind, before the blissful sleep of unconsciousness was, 'No... I, don't... lo...s..e...'  
  
The crowd exploded into cheers as they witnessed the ascension of the new Pegasus Saint. One man amongst them having been particularly impressed with the performance of the loser.  
  
'He did better than I expected. I believed that no one could stand up to my Psychokinesis. It seems I was wrong'. With that final consideration he began to make his way to the middle of the arena, where Seiya was receiving his Pegasus Mantle.  
  
He quickly reached the fallen Ranma and, taking care not to aggravate his injuries, carried him towards his own living quarters.  
  
'Ooohh, man... What hit me?' Ranma thought as he woke several hours after the fight. He looked around the unfamiliar room and was surprised to discover that he had been bandaged expertly. He was lying on a small futon inside a small stone room. He looked through the only window and was shocked to discover it was nightfall.  
  
"Was I out that long?" he asked to no one in particular. It all came back to him then, the fight, the strange power and his defeat because of it.  
  
'Damn it,' he thought, while slamming his right fist into the ground, 'I shouldn't have lost that match. I don't lose. Ever. So why now?' He couldn't help but wonder who had been behind the unexpected assault that had immobilised him. He sighed, disheartened, and looked around once again.  
  
"I would appreciate it if you didn't vent your frustrations on my floor, holes like that take some effort to repair"  
  
"What the-?" Ranma immediately turned towards the source of the voice and was able to discern in the poor light the outline of a man. Finally, after several seconds of silent contemplation he asked, "Who are you?"  
  
The man took a step into the room so the moonlight coming from the open window would shine upon him, revealing his figure to the enquiring teen. A small gust of wind blew inside the room and Ranma couldn't help but stare as the man's lilac hair fluttered about.  
  
"My name," he finally said, "is Mu..."  
  
'Oh... this is not good...' thought Seiya as he tried to pick himself up after taking quite a beating at the hands of Shaina and a number of Sanctuary's common thugs.  
  
He desperately began to look around in hopes of finding something that would help him.  
  
The Cobra Silver Saint had not been amused that he had won the Pegasus Mantle and had ambushed him just when he was about to leave Sanctuary.  
  
So far he had received no help whatsoever from his teacher, other that her telling him to get the hell away from there if he wanted to live.  
  
His gaze finally settled on the metal box that laid haphazardy tossed on the ground in front of him.  
  
Marin had told him that he should only wear his Cloth at a time of desperate need.  
  
'If this doesn't qualify as "desperate need" then I don't know what will,' he thought to himself while still mulling over the decision.  
  
A triumphant shout caught his attention as he spotted one of his opponents approaching him while signaling the rest of his buddies to join him.  
  
His mind made up, Seiya reached forward and pulled on the handle.  
  
"Y-you're the Aries Gold Saint!!" Ranma exclaimed while trying desperately to sit upright. He had heard about the legendary warriors who could move at the speed of light. They were Sanctuary's elite, the Gold Saints. The twelve most powerful warriors out of the eighty eight Saints that served the goddess Athena.  
  
Mu, the legendary blacksmith, who had also been the disciple of the former High Priest, was the bearer of the Aries Gold Cloth. Like him, there were eleven others, each belonging to one of the signs of the zodiac.  
  
"That's right," he said with a smile on his face, "I am the guardian of this first temple," he continued as he approached the fallen warrior. Ranma was amazed to find that his injuries had already healed, as Mu began to check up on them.  
  
"It seems you're healing abilities weren't overrated Ranma," he said, "you've healed completely."  
  
"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" asked the teen as his caretaker finished removing the bandages he was covered in.  
  
Mu paused for a second and looked at him with an unreadable expression for a couple of seconds. Ranma used that time to study him. He couldn't believe that this man was the Aries Gold Saint. He looked so... frail.  
  
Nonetheless, now that he was wide awake, he could feel a massive power hidden deep within him, just waiting to be unleashed. 'Not only has he got this huge amount of power, but that level of control is like none I've ever seen before...'  
  
Finally, with a small sigh, Mu responded, "Well... I felt a bit guilty. You see, it was because of me you got the injuries in the first place..."  
  
'What!?' though the pigtailed warrior to himself as he looked back on the fight and couldn't recall a single moment when-.  
  
"Y-you were the one using psychokinesis?" he tentatively asked as he remembered the flash of golden Cosmos just before he was immobilised.  
  
Suddenly both of them felt a powerful explosion of power. Mu cast a quick glance towards the window and turned back towards Ranma.  
  
"The questions will have to wait Ranma. The Pegasus Saint is in trouble and he will need his twin," he said as he stood up to his full height again.  
  
"But I-"  
  
"Go!" he exclaimed while tossing one of his spare leather breast plates at Ranma.  
  
"Fine," he replied while jumping towards the open window, "but when this is over I want answers!" and with those final words he broke into a sprint after leaping towards where he felt Seiya's Cosmos begin to lose its strength.  
  
As Mu stared at Ranma's retreating form his shoulders slumped ever-so-slightly.  
  
"I'm sorry Ranma, but you're not ready to know the truth yet..."  
  
And with those words, he shimmered out of sight.  
  
Seiya couldn't understand it, he had felt an incredible rush of power once he was clad in the Pegasus Mantle and he had actually managed to tag Shaina in the shoulder with one of his attacks. now he was being beaten by the low ranked warriors and his sensei was just standing there letting it happen!  
  
'Seiya,' he remembered her saying, 'the Cloth is nothing but a conduit for your own power. It has no Cosmos of its own. Without a proper bearer it becomes nothing more than a useless pile of metal.'  
  
As the blows kept raining down, a faint brilliance began to appear around Seiya. The soldiers gathered around him suddenly backed off in fear as the Pegasus Saint flared his Cosmos powerfully.  
  
An errant leaf landed on his left shoulder pad and was instantly incinerated due to the sheer amount of heat that radiated off the energized suit of armour.  
  
"You think you can just take me for a weakling? You think I can't fight back? You are seriously mistaken!!! PEGASUS RYUSEIKEN!!!"  
  
Just as before, a multitude of comets erupted from within Seiya's body. With his Cloth amplifying his power, the attack tore into his enemies mercilessly.  
  
The soldiers were thrown about like rag dolls as Shaina desperately tried to avoid the shooting stars the infuriated Saint had unleashed.  
  
'His attack is faster than before, and the blows are stronger as well,' she thought as she began to block the ones she couldn't dodge in time.  
  
Suddenly, Seiya felt a stab of pain in his left side and his attack faltered a second too soon, causing the last of the meteors to miss the Cobra Saint completely.  
  
'Dammit,' he thought to himself, 'I still haven't recovered from the battle with Ranma.'  
  
'T-that one nearly struck my mask,' thought Shaina as she unconsciously held her hand to her face in order to reassure herself the item in question was still there, 'I've got to stop playing around with him, if it wasn't for his bruised ribs...' she didn't want to think about what would have happened...  
  
Seiya had fallen to his knees, exhaustion finally taking its toll on the rookie Saint.  
  
Shaina snapped out of her daze and looked over to the Pegasus. "Let's finish this..."  
  
"Feel the power of the Cobra!!!" she yelled as her hands were covered in purple lightning and her nails glowed brightly. As she lunged forward to deal the deathblow a blur stepped in front of her and caught the brunt of the attack.  
  
Surprised, she stepped back to take this new element into consideration. Meanwhile, Seiya's mysterious saviour stood up from where he had been thrown.  
  
"You!" said Shaina, venom dripping from her voice as she laid eyes on the man who had defeated Cassius. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Hey, I'm pissed that he won too, but I can't let you kill him, it just isn't right," he said. 'Besides, I'll never get any answers unless he lives...'  
  
"Hey, you!" he exclaimed while looking at Marin, "Take him away from here, I'll handle her," he said while taking a loose stance.  
  
The Eagle Saint was confused, what was he doing here? And, more importantly, how could he still be standing after the battle with Seiya? "But-"  
  
"Don't argue with me, just go!" he replied.  
  
"Don't underestimate me boy!" Shaina yelled as she jumped towards him in an attempt to catch him by surprise.  
  
He quickly blocked her attack and attempted one of his own. "You know, I don't like fighting women, with them being the weaker sex and all, but you're not giving me much options here," he told her while ducking under a claw swipe.  
  
"How dare you?!" Shaina felt insulted. He wouldn't fight women? This kid who wasn't even able to defeat Seiya implied that women were weak? That she was weak? He would pay.  
  
She raised her Cosmos until a brilliant aura surrounded her and then let loose with a wicked uppercut that fell short of hitting the pigtailed warrior.  
  
Ranma jumped back to avoid the blow, and felt a searing pain in his chest. Looking down he noticed a large gash had cut through the worn down armour he was wearing and had managed to reach the skin, where some blood was seeping through the cracks.  
  
'I've got to end this now,' he thought.  
  
"I'm sorry, but you leave me no choice," he told her as his own Cosmos began to flare. The blazing corona surrounding him matched the one being emanated from the Cobra Saint.  
  
'Impossible!' she thought, 'His power can't be equal to mine, I'm a Silver Saint and this punk couldn't even get a Bronze Mantle..'  
  
'Here goes...'  
  
"PEGASUS RYUSEIKEN!!!"  
  
Once again, a flurry of meteors were unleashed as Ranma became nothing more than a blur, heading straight for the Cobra Saint.  
  
Shaina desperately tried to dodge the incoming strikes but she was barely able to block a few as the sheer amound of strikes overwhelmed her.  
  
When the assault was over she almost doubled over in pain, as Ranma turned to face her after recovering from the attack.  
  
She suddenly felt her mask shift and stood in shock as it fell apart, having been neatly severed into two, right at the middle.  
  
Ranma looked at her and knew that the battle was over. With a small smile on his lips, he began to walk towards the fallen Pegasus.  
  
"Ranma," Shaina said as the pigtailed warrior walked past her, refusing to meet his gaze, "the next time we meet... I shall give you no quarter. We will fight until one of us is dead."  
  
"I look forward to it," he replied, while stopping to look back at his defeated opponent. As he turned to face the other way, he couldn't help but make another comment as a smirk appeared on his face, "Who would have guessed that under that horrible mask hid such a cute face?"  
  
Ranma once again began to walk towards Sanctuary, making sure that Marin and Seiya hadn't been followed by soldiers.  
  
Shaina remained standing where she had been since her mask had been torn apart. A single thought kept revolving around her head.  
  
'Cute..?'  
  
Author's notes:  
  
Well now, that's an interesting development now isn't it? How many people were expecting Ranma to get the Pegasus Mantle? I just thought that doing that would be either too predictable or too boring. Besides, I kind of like Seiya (even though he ALWAYS wins against Saints who are a million times more powerful).  
  
I decided to cut this chapter into two since it was getting to be really long and I still didn't reach a suitable ending point for it. In fact, I didn't even reveal what Ranma's Mantle would be (and I know you're just dying to find that out). I believe I've got a pretty interesting idea about that but I'm still trying to round it out so it seems believable.  
  
I'm sorry about the delay, what with finishing school and college entrance issues coming up I had little to no time available for writing.  
  
About AGDM... well, I should be able to update sometime this month, I've been busy creating my own decks for tournament play and I've been trying to tone down Ranma's (since no one in the anime would have a chance of winning against what I had originally planned and I don't want this to be too unreal)  
  
Anybody interested in being a prereader? I've still got, let's see... three more slots to fill. Oh and one more thing, Peter Kim would you please cut down on the constant requests? I've already got a deck planned out and I'll update when I can so just, chill out. Ok?  
  
PS: Just in case no one read my "auto review", Fist of Orion crosses over with Hokuto no ken (Fist of the North Star) so it's not a pure Ranma/Saint Seiya x-over (which is to what I was referring to).  
  
Post revision notes: I'm gonna make this short. I am not dead, I was just VERY BUSY for the past few months. Started college now and it's taking up 110 of my time, so bear with me. Updates will come again now, at least more regularly but don't expect any to come at least for a month, since I have midterms coming up. AGDM: I nearly finished ch2 in draft form and will be doing some revising for the next few days. I will post it as soon as I finish it but, again, don't expect it too soon. The main reason I didn't update was that I had to rewrite everything from scratch since I lost all of my files due to a virus (damn you blaster worm!!!) and with them went my drive to write. If it wasn't for a friend of mine who told me to get my butt in gear I might not even have posted this (capo Marta :P).  
  
Anyway, you know the deal. C&Cs, flames, anything will do, as long as I know that someone reads this. E-mail me at ironneko a hotmail . com or ironneko a yahoo . com . ar (new address!!). I don't know why but won't let me do the "a" thingie for the e-mail address so I will be writing it as it is now. 


	3. Taking Flight

The Second Stallion  
  
by RaZiel  
  
Disclaimer: You know the drill right? Check older chapters for this.  
  
" " denotes speech  
  
' ' denotes thoughts  
  
Chapter 2: Taking Flight  
  
----------------  
  
The High Priest was Athena's chosen caretaker, and the head of Sanctuary. His chambers were the final barrier between any possible invaders, and the goddess' quarters. Any and all people who wanted to reach them, had to first cross the twelve temples, each one guarded by it's corresponding Gold Saint. If all of them fell in battle, it was the High Priest's duty to stop whoever was attempting to get past him, by any means necessary.  
  
"Worthless..."  
  
An all-encompassing voice sounded wthin the construct as the pigtailed warrior picked himself up from the floor.  
  
"Absolutely worthless..."  
  
The same voice again, this time a shadow could be identified as the speaker while it approached the struggling teen.  
  
"After all the time I wasted training you... to taste defeat at the hands of such a pathetic fighter... It's disgraceful..."  
  
As the shadow stepped into the light coming from the morning sun, Ranma rose to his full height and came face-to-face with the High Priest himself.  
  
"GALAXIAN EXPLOSION!!!"  
  
An eruption of unimaginable Cosmic power exploded from within the High Priest's hand as Ranma was bombarded with the equivalent of a supernova going off.  
  
The teen held back a scream of absolute pain as he was tossed about like a rag doll. He had tasted the attack more than a few times. The Galaxian Explosion, a technique responsible for breaking many a Saint before, was still too fast and powerful for Ranma to see, let alone withstand. He crashed into several columns before finally stopping at the foot of an ornate throne, where his 'master' usually sat.  
  
Ares turned to look at the entrance of his temple as some soldiers came rushing into the room.  
  
"Your Highness!! We heard a commotion and came as quickly as we cou-"  
  
"LEAVE NOW!" he responded with a commanding tone that stopped the grunts in their tracks, "Whoever disturbs me again WILL face death..."  
  
With a quick reply of "Y-yessir!" both sentries swiftly left the room with panicked haste.  
  
With a small grunt of dissatisfaction, he once again turned to face Ranma and was pleasantly surprised to see he was once again on his feet.  
  
Ranma could almost feel the smirk that was surely appearing underneath the mask he wore.  
  
"Come on boy, give me a reason to believe I shouldn't just kill you now!"  
  
A brilliant corona of Cosmos exploded from within as Ranma unleashed all of the anger he felt at that time right into Ares.  
  
"PEGASUS SUISEIKEN!!!"  
  
His fist turned into a single flaming comet, Ranma streaked towards his opponent. Just as he reached him, he felt an intense pain in his gut, and was truly surprised to find an elbow buried there.  
  
"You haven't earned the right to use that attack."  
  
The High Priest's helmet touched the ground at the same time the teen fell to his knees, having been blown off by the attack.  
  
"Well now..." the Gemini Gold Saint sounded almost amused as watched his student recover his breath, "it seems you might not be totally useless after all..."  
  
"H-hai sensei..." his reply came between ragged breaths as he still struggled to fill his abused lungs with air.  
  
With a minor burst of Cosmos, the helmet was in his hands once again. He slowly made his way to the throne, and sat in his seat of power.  
  
"You will go to China. There is an Amazon Village in the vicinity of the Bayankala mountain range. I have received word that these women are powerful fighters, and our hold over that area has been slipping as of late. Your friend will go there with you..."  
  
As he trailed off his hair slowly shifted from the ashen white into a deep blue and his features softened if only for an instant.  
  
Ranma was already on his way towards the steps that lead to the outside when a gentle voice reached his ears.  
  
"Be careful Ranma, I don't know how long I can hold him back..."  
  
With tears in his eyes, he bid his master a final farewell and quickly departed from the temple.  
  
Saga, the Gemini Gold Saint watched his student leave. He knew it would be the last time he could spare him when he felt the demonic presence overcome his mind once again. He placed the blood red helmet on his head were it belonged, white hair cascading over his shoulders as the blue mask stared out into space, the ruby eyes shining with barely repressed golden Cosmos.  
  
Ares was back.  
  
-----------------------  
  
"So you say Hyouga is the Cygnus Saint?" Seiya asked Shun as he waited around for the next fight to start.  
  
"That's right Seiya!"  
  
Both Saints turned at the exclamation as a teenager jumped from the stairs leading to the main arena and landed between them.  
  
"I am the Cygnus Saint, and I will win the Gold Cloth, got it?" the Saint who controlled the icy winds of the Artic, Cygnus Hyouga, stated with a challenging tone.  
  
While the "reunion" escalated and the Hydra Saint finally arrived, Saori Kido went over some current news with her butler, and caretaker, Tatsumi.  
  
"You say that all of the Saints have arrived?" she asked. Yesterday had been quite an exciting day for all of them, since Seiya had shown up and had been the protagonist of an astounding victory. None of the other Saints believed the scrawny teen could overpower the mighty Bear, so he had gained quite a bit of popularity and respect lately.  
  
"No, not all of them. The Phoenix has yet to appear and..." he trailed off momentarily thinking about whether to mention this last bit of information to his lady.  
  
"Well?.. What is it?" she asked, sounding slightly annoyed.  
  
"You see... Seiya told me he had, in fact, seen Ranma. However, he didn't know anything other than he was severely injured after their fight for the Pegasus Mantle," he replied.  
  
"I see..." she said while thinking about the possible repercussions this might have on her grandfather's plans.  
  
Mitsumasa Kido had left very precise instructions for her to follow since his death but had not once said anything about the "Wild Horse". She had desperately searched through his most private records but still came up empty-handed. Whatever he had in store for the teen was a closely guarded secret.  
  
"DIAMOND DUST!!!"  
  
"That will be all Tatsumi," she said as she witnessed the Hydra Saint being frozen all over, his Cloth cracking in quite a few places due to the extreme cold being generated by the Cygnus Saint.  
  
'Who are you?' she thought to herself even as the announcer declared Hyouga the winner.  
  
'Who are you Ranma Saotome?'  
  
---------------------------  
  
"RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!!!"  
  
Ranma turned at the primal scream and was treated to a poweful haymaker to the face that sent him flying into one of the cliff sides of the mountain path between the Gemini and Taurus temples.  
  
Freeing himself from the pile of rubble he was buried under, he directed an angry look towards the one who assaulted him.  
  
"Ryouga..." the word had almost come out as a guttural growl, as the pigtailed teen began walking towards him.  
  
"Ha, I didn't believe it when I heard that you lost your fight for the Pegasus Cloth... but it turned out to be true!"  
  
Ryouga burst into laughter as he thought about his rival's situation.  
  
"Oh... this is just... too rich..." he was almost to the point of tears now, "and to think that you used to mock me for my Mantle."  
  
"Shut up pig-boy," Ranma replied with an annoyed look on his face, "you know nothing of my battle with Seiya..." he trailed off as he realized it would be pointless to try and explain what happened. After all, he did sound like a poor loser when he tried to explain Mu's actions.  
  
'Hmm...' he thought to himself, 'Now that I think about it, I should get some answers from him...'  
  
"Damn you Ranma! I've told you before, I'm no pig. I'm the Wild Boar Silver Saint, and that's more than you can say!" Ryouga's comeback held an angry undertone. Possibly due to the fact that Ranma had begun calling him that since he became a Saint. It did feel strangely appropiate though.  
  
But Ranma wasn't paying attention to his rant. He had quickly gathered up his travelling pack, along with a couple of scrolls that had fallen from the inside and was now heading towards the Taurus temple once again.  
  
"HEY!!! I'm still talking to you!"  
  
"Put a sock in it will you?" he said, "Gather your things. I've got a direct order from the High Priest to go to some remote place in China and you're coming with me."  
  
"What? But I was supposed to begin guarding the temple today as part of my training..." he sounded a bit bitter since he had been waiting a long time for this chance to come along.  
  
"Well, I'm sure yor master won't mind much. Besides we should be back soon enough. Think of it as a training trip."  
  
As Ranma waited for his friend, a fact which he would admit to grudgingly at best, he thought about the events that had ocurred the night before. 'I know there was some sort of rule about seeing a female Saint's face but I can't remember it. Maybe I'll ask Mu about it too.'  
  
Ryouga was preoccupied with thoughts of his own, 'But I like training with Aldebaran-san...'  
  
--------------------  
  
Both fighters analysed each other, searching for any opening in ther stances, any weakness they could exploit. Their Mantles had been discarded long ago, only flesh remained to meet the terrible attacks unleashed onto them.  
  
'Come on Seiya, think. You know that his technique has a weakness, so find it,' the Pegasus Saint thought to himself as he slowly circled the ring while still facing the Dragon.  
  
Shiryu, on the other hand, was having some thoughts of his own. 'Now that I lost my shield the only chance I have of winning is to land a solid blow. I need to be faster than him or I'll be too exposed.'  
  
He remembered the words his master had told him long ago. His attack was incredibly powerful, but it had a terrible flaw. If Seiya hadn't seen it yet, he could still defeat him.  
  
He shifted his stance in preparation for his attack.  
  
'That's it!' Seiya thought. 'I saw it right there... his left hand stops covering his heart the instant before he attacks...'  
  
"I've figured out the weakness in your umbeatable technique Shiryu!" he exclaimed, shocking both his opponent and the crowd observing the fight.  
  
On the sidelines, the remaining Saints watched the battle taking place.  
  
"I can't believe Shiryu has grown this powerful," said Hyouga, who hadn't even worked up a sweat in his battle with the Hydra. The Cygnus Saint had been sure he was, by far, the most powerful one in the running for the grand prize. However, after seeing what the two teens up in the ring were capable of, he wasn't so sure anymore.  
  
"Seiya as well," responded Shun, "he has been able to match him blow for blow so far. But will that be enough?" that last part had come out almost as a whisper.  
  
His chain suddenly reacted and became agitated within his grip.  
  
"What's going on?" The Wolf, Nachi, asked.  
  
"I don't know," Shun was concerned with this new development, "The Andromeda Chain is feeling danger nearby but it can't seem to pinpoint the exact location," he replied.  
  
He caught sight of a shadow that was lingering near the case that held the Gold Cloth. It dissapeared immediately, and the chain fell limp once again.  
  
'Who was that?' he thought to himself as the fighters in the ring began moving after what seemed an eternity.  
  
'Now!' thought Seiya, as he witnessed Shiryu's hand uncover the right paw of the dragon tatoo painted across his back.  
  
"PEGASUS RYUSEIKEN!!!"  
  
'No! Not now damn it!' Shiryu thought desperately as he approached his opponent, 'Well, if I'm going down... then so are you!'  
  
"ROZAN SHORYUHA!!!"  
  
Unnoticed by anyone due to the collossal battle taking place below him, a man scrambled outside the arena.  
  
'That was too close, I underestimated the power of that chain and almost gave everything away,' the shadow the Andromeda Saint had seen was now standing on top of the Coliseum staring at the clear night sky. 'You're giving me a hard time, little brother, but it will all be over tomorrow,' with those final words Ikki, the Phoenix Saint, dropped out of sight.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Hey Ranma!"  
  
The teen in question turned around at the mention of his name. He could see a man in his early twenties approaching him, clad in nothing more than some simple training clothes and some leather armour.  
  
"Aioria?" he said, almost wondering out loud as the Leo Gold Saint caught up with him, "What is it?"  
  
Aioria had been one of the few friends Ranma had made while training in Sanctuary under the watchful eye of Ares. One of the most honorable of Saints, the Lion had been like an older brother to the pigtailed teen, perhaps attempting to fill the void left by his own sibling, after his execution for attemptiong to kidnap the last incarnation of the goddess Athena.  
  
To others, Aioria seemed a merciless warrior, who pursued his enemies relentlessly and was ruthless when dealing with invaders, like the golden lion he represented, but to Ranma he was just a playful cat.  
  
"Where are you going?" he finally asked, curious about the large travelling pack Ranma carried over his right shoulder.  
  
"Well, I'm supposed to go to China. Sensei's orders. I was heading over to the Aries temple because Mu and I need to finish a discussion," he replied while staring back up the stairs towards the Taurus temple, "I thought I'd make the most out of my time since Ryouga's still packing,"  
  
Aioria was somewhat bothered by the fact that Ranma was leaving so soon after his battle for the Pegasus Cloth. He then suddenly recalled something he'd heard earlier.  
  
"You're out of luck then, I've just been told that Mu's left for Jamir already,"  
  
"What?" the disbelief was evident in Ranma's tone as he thought about this new development, "But what about the first Temple? Isn't he supposed to guard it?" he inquired.  
  
"Kiki's still here... I guess the telepathic link he and Mu share is enough to assure him that everything will be all right. Besides, Mu can teleport here at a moment's notice. You know he is a master of Psychokinesis right?"  
  
Aioria watched Ranma's shoulders slump in defeat.  
  
'I didn't think he wanted to speak with Mu that much. Must be something important if he is so worried about it,' he thought.  
  
"Well," he said, "since you have some free time now... why don't we spar for a bit before you go?"  
  
Ranma's face brightened considerably at the suggestion.  
  
"Sure," he replied, dropping his backpack on the ground as he began to stretch, "Ryouga is probably still trying to find his way into his room anyway..."  
  
As soon as he finished talking, his chin met his opponent's fist as the eldest of the two wasted no time at all in breaching his defenses.  
  
Tilting his had back with the blow, he absorbed the impact and countered with a backflip that eventually became a crescent kick. However, the Lion was ready for it as he quickly backed away and evaded Ranma's right leg by less than a hair.  
  
As soon as he regained his footing, Ranma tore into Aioria with a powerful kick and punch combination that could not be countered, and both of them began trading blows.  
  
A leg sweep was negated with a jump kick just as a haymaker ended up as a perfect throw candidate. The two fighters kept the pace for more than half an hour, none of them gaining a clear advantage over the other.  
  
Aioria broke the stalemate as he cleared some space between Ranma and himself.  
  
"So... ready to up the ante?" he asked the teen as a faint golden glow began to surround him.  
  
"Always,"  
  
A cyan coloured aura enveloped Ranma as he mentally steeled himself and drew as much Cosmos as he could from within. He was pretty banged up from the earlier massacre against his master, but that still didn't deterr him from going all out here.  
  
At an unseen signal, they exploded into colourful blurs. With renewed intensity, they mercilessly tore into each other in an attempt to find an opening.  
  
'Here he comes,' thought Ranma as he felt a slight buildup of Cosmos from his opponent.  
  
"LIGHTNING BOLT!!!"  
  
Focusing all of his will into a defensive barrier, he braced himself for impact as the Leo Gold Saint rushed towards him and unleashed what could only be described as a bolt of lightning.  
  
Unknown to both fighters, a spectator was witnessing the battle.  
  
'Such power... How could I not notice him before?' the Cobra was angry. Angry at her student, for failing to win the Pegasus Cloth. Angry at Seiya for escaping Sanctuary with that very same Cloth. But most of all, angry at herself for underestimating the awesome power of the pigtailed teen she now beheld with calculating eyes.  
  
'How can it be? This kid, barely seventeen, matched me blow for blow... Not even a Bronze Saint, yet he can stand up to me?' Not much could stand up to a Silver Saint, however, Ranma had done it, and he'd sparked something within Shaina she hadn't felt in a long time.  
  
'I swear by my honour as a Saint, I will defeat you Ranma. Last time was nothing more than a fluke. I underestimated you, but that won't happen again,'  
  
She turned to leave, feeling the need to attend to other matters, such as the condition of Cassius. A final thought ran through her mind at that time.  
  
'And if I don't...'  
  
She walked away from the scene, still unnoticed by the fighters.  
  
"PEGASUS RYUSEIKEN!!!"  
  
"Still too slow Ranma!" Aioria shouted as he lazily dodged around the blows. 'He's quite a lot faster than last time though,' he thought to himself.  
  
'Damn it, I need more power,' Focusing his Cosmos like never before, his battle aura gaining an incredible shine, Ranma began to actually speed up. Aioria was caught off-guard as he received a punch to the face.  
  
'My God! I can't believe it... He's beginning to access the seventh sense...'  
  
Almost as an automatic defense mechanism, the Gold Saint immediately classified Ranma with a new threat level, and responded accordingly without thinking.  
  
"LIGHTNING PLASMA!!!"  
  
The Lightning Plasma, the Leo Saint's most powerful technique was actually a myriad of blasts that travelled at the speed of light towards his opponent and created a kind of energy web that wreaked havoc across anything it encountered.  
  
Ranma, having been totally wiped out by the insane amount of effort of empowering his attack, was powerless to defend against an attack he'd only seen being used on other people.  
  
He was, once again, sent flying backwards and ended up embedded in the cliff wall.  
  
'Uhh, today hasn't been a good day for me and walls...' he thought as he slipped into unconciousness.  
  
"RANMA!!" Aioria immediately powered down and headed over to his fallen friend and began checking his injuries.  
  
At that time Ryouga approached both warriors, holding his own travelling pack tied over the box that held his Mantle.  
  
"Hey Aioria!" he called out.  
  
"Oh, Ryouga, hi..." he missed the first signs of stirring from Ranma as he greeted the Silver Saint.  
  
"What happened to him?" the newcomer asked, noticing for the first time the state his rival was in.  
  
"Well... I went a bit overboard while sparring with him..." he admitted as the pigtailed teen sat up.  
  
"Ow... Guess you won this one right niisan?" he said while struggling to stand.  
  
"Heh, I think you're right about that one squirt," he replied while helping the injured fighter to stand.  
  
He allowed him to drape his arm over his shoulder as he walked with him where the discarded pack lay.  
  
"I just need a moment to catch my breath and then we can go," he told Ryouga.  
  
Said person looked at him with an amused smirk on his face, "You're getting soft on me Saotome?"  
  
He picked Ranma and dumped him over his right arm as he slung the bag over his left one. "Come on you girl, let's get going,"  
  
"I'm... no girl..." he replied just before falling into unconciousness once again.  
  
He turned around to leave and felt Aioria's hand grasping his left shoulder.  
  
"Take care Ryouga, both him and yourself,"  
  
"Don't worry," he said, "If anyone's gonna kill him, I'll be me," with a smile on his face he set forth into the dirt path that lead away from Sanctuary and into the open world.  
  
The Gold Saint watched them go until they were nothing more than a speck across the horizon. Turning back into Sanctuary he suddenly froze as he finally caught on to what he'd done.  
  
'What the hell was I thinking??? They'll never get there with Ryouga in the lead!!!'  
  
---------------------  
  
Author's notes:  
  
Well, here it is. The long awaited chapter 2. (Although you guys ddn't have to wait all that much when compared to my older updates)  
  
Ranma's master has been revealed, the plot is beginning to develop and more of the Ranma 1/2 crew start appearing. Tell me what you think about the "flashback" sort of style. I plan to keep doing scenes that show the original storyline moving forward until they merge (not too sure about when that will happen yet).  
  
I want to get this out of the way right about now. I haveno plans to include the Asgard Saga in this fic, (hell, I don't even know if I'll ever be able to finish the Sanctuary arc) but I might change my mind somewhere along the line.  
  
Now we get to the big question... Should I curse Ranma? I want reader's response here because I feel Ranma is not really complete without his curse, but he's cursed in all my other fics so it could be a nice change of pace (nevermind the fact that I havent shown Ranma-chan in a single scene ever before ). Of course the final decision will be up to me but I would like to know how you feel about it. I don't want just a simple yes/no answer, give me reasons!!!  
  
Well, I took some time off my midterms (since they aren't over yet, in fact I've got one in just under four hours from now...) to whip this up for you as a kind of apology for taking so long in updating. Expect updates to be more regular from now on (not this regular though...) I'll probably do one or two more chapters of this one and go back to AGDM (I haven't forgotten about that one, it's just that I'm on a roll, if 2 updates in the last 7 months can be called a roll).  
  
So, anyway, you know the drill. Comments, flames (I'll stop asking for these pretty soon :P) anything to let me know you read this stuff. Email me at (msn messenger address) or (use this one for comments since I have more space).  
  
For those reading this in ff dot net , check my profile for my Email addresses since I don't know why the system deletes them.  
  
PS: I think this will be the standard length of chapters from now on (between 20 and 30k), too many complaints about how short chapters were really made me work to make them longer.  
  
Ja Ne...  
  
RaZiel 


	4. Change

The Second Stallion 

by RaZiel

Disclaimer: I shouldn't even have to do this... I mean, does anyone really think I would be writing this if I actually owned the characters?

" " denotes speech.

' ' denotes thoughts.

Oh, and one more thing. I've never cleared this up before but I'm doing it now. Unless stated otherwise, all dialogue is in Japanese.

Chapter 3: Change

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A small rabbit carelessly scampered around near a tiny puddle on the forest floor. The leaves of the tall trees swayed gently with the wind as the verdant vegetation seemed to be truly alive. The rabbit took a quick sip of water and then hopped away into the nearby underbrush, having sated its thirst. The small critter made its way over to a small pile of berries that had fallen from the branches of the tree above and carefully grabbed one of them with its small paws. It revelled in the peace and quiet as it happily munched down on its meal.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW???"

The rabbit, a couple of deer and quite a number of birds fled in terror as Ryouga Hibiki shattered the peaceful atmosphere with a scream that had become his leiv motif over the years.

The teenager looked around in frustration, failing to see any significant indicators of where he was.

Resigning himself to the idea that he was getting nowhere, he decided to set up camp for the night. He unceremoniously dumped his burden on the floor, including a certain pigtailed warrior.

He quickly started a small fire to keep warm while he pitched up his own small tent, silently cursing Ranma for getting knocked out on purpose just to make his work harder.

When he finished, he sat by the fire, gazing into the starry night that had closed above him while he worked. So many times he'd look at the moon and curse his bad luck, but this time he seemed almost happy.

Ryouga's directional curse had afflicted his family for quite a number of generations. The curse took effect at birth, and was so powerful that he had even gotten lost while navigating the restricted space of his crib when he was nothing more than a toddler.

For years he had endured the hardship of being tied down, in the literal sense, while in class at school because of this problem. The few times he'd manage to get free, he invariably ended up lost.

One of such times he found himself inside the backyard of a great mansion. The kids at school had always told him that the house was haunted and that children's screams could be heard coming from inside.

"Where the hell am I now?" he silently asked, unaware that he would be repeating that same question many times in the years to come.

"Hi!"

Ryouga jumped back, startled by the pigtailed boy that had suddenly appeared in front of him.

"What'cha doing?" the boy asked while approaching the surprised stranger he saw wandering about the gardens.

"I-I was just..."

"I'm Ranma," the other kid said, "who're you?"

"Ryouga," he replied, while still trying to shake the agitation out of his system. The stress of being lost, in this place, and the sudden shock of Ranma appearing in front of him just began to subside.

"So..." Ranma continued, his earlier question forgotten, "you a fighter?"

"I'm a martial artist," he replied, more at ease now that the conversation headed towards familiar ground. He'd began his training in the family style a couple of months before, whenever chance enabled both his father and himself to meet at home.

"Wanna spar?"

Those words signified the beginning of what was to become an almost frequent ritual of training for both boys. Ryouga would often find himself in that same yard, where Ranma was always waiting.He discovered that the more he tried to go about his normal routine, the easier it was to end up there.

The meetings boosted Ryouga's skill in the art tremendously, and soon both boys were analysing and discussing the advantages and drawbacks in their respective styles.

One afternoon, a couple of months after their initial meeting, Ryouga surprised Ranma by manifesting a battle aura during their match.

"What do you think about this Saotome?" Ryouga gloated with a confident smirk on his face. His rival had never shown any indication of knowing how to utilize ki, so he expected nothing short of amazement from him.

"Oh, you have one of those too?" he asked excitedly while a bright blue corona sprang up around him, "That's so cool! No other kid here has one yet... That means I can stop holding back!"

Ryouga's barely visible green glow winked out of existance at this sudden revelation. It couldn't be. The one thing he was sure that he'd beaten Ranma at and it turned out that he was miles ahead of him.

"How can it be? How can you have a more powerful ki than me already?" he lamented, talking more to himself than to Ranma.

"Ki... what's that?" the pigtailed boy asked in confusion.

Now it was Ryouga's turn to be confused, as he turned to face the smaller child. "That wasn't ki?" he asked.

That question sparked a very lengthy explanation from Ranma's part, which served to educate the bandanna-wearing boy about Cosmos.

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"Where are you going Shiryu?" Seiya asked while the Dragon Saint was leaving.

"I have heard great tales about a man named Mu, who lives secluded from others in Jamir. My master once told me that if anyone could repair a Cloth, it would be him," he silently cursed his own stupid pride once again as he thought about the predicament they were now in. If only he hadn't been so consumed with arrogance both he and Seiya would not be in such a bad shape, and their Mantles would be intact, not devoid of life, as they were.

"Shiryu... be careful," the Pegasus Saint finally replied, knowing that the Dragon would not be deterred from this decision.

"I will," he whispered as he walked away.

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"Ugh..."

The sudden groan brought Ryouga out of his reverie as his attention once again focused on the fallen warrior lying a couple of metres away from him.

"About time you woke up Saotome. It's been almost a day now since Aioria-san threw you up against that wall. You're getting softer," he taunted while the pigtailed boy sat up, holding his aching head with his right hand.

"Shut up Pig-boy, it's not like I expected nissan to just go all out on me," he replied, his pained face testament to what his nerves told his brain about the stimuli they had received earlier. "Where are we anyway?" he asked.

"We should be somewhere near that village you were talking about, I'm pretty sure I didn't stray that far this time," he answered while digging into his backpack for his fresh water.

Ryouga's sense of direction had consistedly improved ever since he actually accepted he had a problem with it. The fact that his control over Cosmos had increased exponentially over time also helped. He felt more attuned to the universe ever since the time Ranma had began training him.

"Ranma?"

"Huh?"

"Do you remember the day you left the Kido Foundation?" Ryouga inquired, starting to remember once again.

"Sure do," Ranma replied, "you promised you'd hunt me down to the ends of the Earth to prove you were better than me,"

"What do you think would have happened if you hadn't managed to get Kido-san to agree letting me join you?" he asked.

"I dunno, but I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be here right now," Ranma said while fishing out a small pot filled with rice from his own backpack.

He winced at the sudden pain from his, still tender, ribs.

'I'm lucky that sensei held back more than usual this time,' he thought as he tentatively asessed the damage from the beating he had received from his master, 'he managed to reign him in enough so that he didn't break anything. It's a good thing he wasn't wearing his Cloth as well,' he knew that if Ares had been wearing the Gemini Gold Mantle when he attacked his pupil, bruised ribs would be the least of his problems.

'Then again, I did get hurt quite a lot...' he remembered his past few fights; the fight against Seiya, the fight against the Cobra, the fight against his master, Ryouga's surprise attack and the unplanned outburst from his brother.

'Maybe I should take it easy at least for another day,' he thought while managing to place the pot over the fire. Those kinds of thoughts could wait till after dinner. After all, he hadn't eaten in a whole day and was planning to catch up.

In the nearby underbrush, two girls were overlooking (more like underlooking, from their point of view) the two outsiders.

"So, Par fum, what do you make of them?" the youngest of the two asked, while adjusting some of her purple hair that had gotten stuck among the leaves.

"Dunno," the brown-haired teen replied, "the one with the bandanna's kind of cute,"

Both female Amazons were quite beautiful in their own way. One had the cute charm of a naive child, while the other had a certain sensuous air of maturity around her. The fact that they were both covered in dust and leaves diminished the effect somehow.

"You know that is not what I mean, sister," purple hair said, not too amused with the response she had received. Going out in patrol with her sister was no picnic for her. She couldn't complain though, her great-grandmother was quite adamant about her going to the field with a more experienced warrior, and, although she hated admitting it, Par Fum was a lot more experienced than her... in more ways than one.

"Relax Xian Pu," she said, "you know I'm just messing with you,"

She then proceeded to backpedal through the bush and out the other side, dusting herself off once she could stand again. Once outside, she stretched her arms above her head in a suggestive pose, showing off her ample curves that were barely being restrained by the blue silk Chinese dress she was wearing.

Xian Pu crawled out from within the leaves moments later, her pink dress a bit dirty from the contact with the ground.

In truth, both sisters were pretty similar. The only differences being their hair colour, and that Xian Pu's face was more round and baby-like, while Par Fum's was a bit more angular.

Well, that and the fact that she was also nearly a head taller than her younger sister. Hairstyles were different too, Xian Pu had hers just loose with bangs in the front with twin buns behind, reaching down to her lower back, while her sister had her own, longer, hair tied up into a lone, straightponytail that reached all the way to her hip.

"Okay then, let's go," Par Fum finally said.

"What?" Xian asked confused, "But we just got here!"

Her sister let out an annoyed breath at the reply, "Listen, Granny asked us to take a look at the disturbance. Well... we've looked at it; nothing more than two travelling martial artists. Now we go back," she said.

"But we should find out more about them!" Xian Pu countered, determined to know at least who these boys were.

A heated debate began and soon both sisters forgot about the pair of fighters having a relaxing dinner a few feet away.

"What are they saying?" Ranma asked, while wolfing down his third helping of rice so far.

"How should I know?" Ryouga replied, "I don't know a word of Chinese,"

"Oh, I just assumed you did, given that you've been all over the place," the pigtailed teen put down the pot and settled on his back to look at the stars above.

"So, what are we supposed to do here anyway?" the Wild Boar asked, quite ignorant about the instructions they had received from the High Priest and having deemed both girls as harmless.

"Nothing, just train I guess," Ranma replied, while staring at his own guardian stars.

"Huh?"

"I just came here to escape from Sanctuary. I don't care about what I had to do, I needed to get out of there," he said, thinking about the last confrontation with his master.

"The episodes were getting worse I assume?" Ryouga asked, having known about the unique condition Ranma's sensei suffered.

"I refuse to believe it, but I may have seen the last of him already..." he trailed off as the topic suddenly became too painful to talk about.

"So, are we still going to this Amazon village?" Ryouga asked, trying to get Ranma's mind away from the topic of his master somehow.

"It's worth a shot. I've heard that they are supposed to be excellent martial artists, and it never hurts to train in something different," he replied.

"You think those two over there come from that place?" the badanna-wearing teen asked.

"Possibly," Ranma answered, "I don't think we'll be able to learn much stealth from them," he smiled at that point.

Both friends shared a laugh after that comment. It had been quite some tie since the two of them were alone like this, just camping out under the stars.

"So..." Ryouga suddenly said, "how is she doing?"

"What do you mean?" Ranma responded.

"Don't play dumb, you know who I'm talking about," he insisted.

"I don't know, okay I guess," he finally replied.

"What's been going on between the two of you?" he pried once again.

"Nothing, I mean, Seika and I are just friends. That's all there is to it," Ranma concluded, slightly unconfortable with the way the conversation had been going.

"But didn't you go out last week?" the Silver Saint asked, determined to find out as much as he could about the subject.

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now," Ranma replied, "I just want to rest,"

With those final words, he turned his back on the Wild Boar (his aching side punished him dearly for this action) and settled off into a deep sleep.

"Fine," Ryouga said, as he mimicked the actions of his companion.

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Ranma suddenly sat up, covered in sweat.

The nightmare had seemed so real... He had seen his master being subjugated by his other self and coerced into killing the Goddess Athena. He then saw himself with an unidentifiable Cloth doing battle with the Gemini Gold Saint, the battle ending with his own death.

As he calmed down, he began to notice his surroundings.

Cold, stone floor was hardly the same as the warm dirt he had been lying on a few hours ago.

He looked around and saw that he was lying in some kind of cell, Ryouga was snoring a couple of feet away, still in deep sleep.

Somewhat confused, the pigtailed warrior slowly stood up and began stretching; he was pleased to discover that his wounds had mostly healed, and only a mild disconfort remained as testament to his previous injuries.

"Well," he said, "I feel great, Now I just have to find out where we are,"

"The question is not where you are sonny boy," a strange voice interrupted his musings. As Ranma turned to ascertain where it came from, an old woman who had been perched atop a wooden staff, hiding among the shadows of the dimly lit dungeon revealed herself, "but rather, who you are," she finished while approaching him.

"Who are you?" Ranma demanded, having been caught by surprise by the unexpected intrusion.

"I believe I asked that very same question first," the elder replied, with a mocking grin on her face.

Ranma then proceeded to say what he had always told people who met him for the very first time, "I am Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu,"

It wasn't a lie either, since he had kept training in his former style ever since he had been separated from his father. In fact, he would probably be with him right now if it wasn't for the promise Mr. Kido had made him that he would be stronger by training at Sanctuary. A promise that had been fulfilled.

"Anything Goes eh?" the old woman seemed amused at the response, "So you are a student of Happosai?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ranma seemed geniunely confused about her question, that was enough to satisfy her curiosity.

"I see, no matter," she replied.

"You still haven't told me who you are," Ranma said.

"I am Khu Lon, Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku Amazons,"

Ranma smiled at the revelation, "We've reached our destination after all," he said, more to himself that to the elder. He then turned to look at the sleeping Ryouga, "You weren't that far off-track this time,"

Once again, he faced the Matriarch, with a confident smirk on his face.

"I challenge you," he simply stated.

Khu Lon almost fell from her stick at the challenge. She couldn't believe tht this mere pup was attempting to battle her, the most powerful warrior of the entire tribe. 'This ought to be interesting,' she thought as she decided to indulge the poor boy.

"Name the conditions, boy," she merely said, confident that this amateur had no idea who he was up against.

"Should I win," he said, "you will train my friend and I in your fighting style, and teach us your special techniques,"

The elder snorted, that was a typical request for challenge. She expected more out of this young man for some strange reason.

"And if you lose?" she asked.

Ranma's smirk intensified at the question, "If you win, then I will train you,"

"I like your spirit boy, but know that no male has ever defeated me in battle,"

"Then I will be the first," he retorted.

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"You are to make sure neither one of the traitors survive,"

Both Saints nodded in understanding at the instructions received. Ranma and Ryouga were to be executed for high treason. Abandoning Sanctuary and seeking refuge in area controlled by its enemies was punished by death.

"Go now, and do not dare to return if you fail," he commanded.

"Yes master," the Saints responded and quickly departed.

'Just you wait Ranma,' the Cobra thought, 'I'll make you pay for humiliating me like that,'

"Shaina," the Saint next to her said, "We set out now. You know the way?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, "I'll lead,"

"Fine," the Orion Silver Saint replied, while adjusting his white cape, "let's go,"

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"You say that this male is going to fight great-grandmother? You're joking right?" Xian Pu asked while hiding behind a tree.

"Shh, keep your voice down," Par Fum replied, "I don't want them to know we're watching the fight,"

Xian Pu peered from behind the tree at the two fighters standing in the middle of a clearing overlooking the pools of sorrow. "I think this male is either stupid or suicidal,"

"Shh!!" Par Fum urged her once again to shut up, "It's starting,"

"The terms are agreed to. Win by knockout or submission," Khu Lon said, looking at Ranma for confirmation.

He nodded, and then set himself into a loose stance, indicating he was ready.

Both fighters remained staring at each other for some time, analysing any possible weakness or opening.

Suddenly, they were in motion; two blurs moving all over the place.

A few tentative kicks were blocked by the frail-looking stick, which, as Ranma discovered, turned out to be quite durable.

The momentary pause allowed the Amazon to press her advantage and deliver a series of devatating punches, all of them aimed at precise spots in her opponent's leg.

Ranma quickly leapt away and expanded his ki to repair the damage the assault had caused on his nerves.

"It seems you are better than I expected. Still, you have a long way to go before being at my level," the Matriarch said, while also releasing her hold on her own battle aura.

"We'll see," Ranma responded, moments before he dissapeared from sight.

Khu Lon was no amateur, and it showed as she evaded a strike meant to hit her lower back and quickly contered with a blow to the head, just as the pigtailed teen recovered.

As he fell back from the blow, he brought his legs up and caught the elder's chin with the tip of his right leg, sending her flying into a nearby tree.

Khu Lon stood up from where she had fallen and stared directly into the eyes of the teen, feeling alive for the first time in many years, "That was a lucky shot, but it won't happen again,"

"I know," Ranma said with a smile as he concentrated his battle aura into his right hand to form a protective layer of white ki around it.

"Want to take it up a notch?" he asked.

"If you feel you are up to it..." she trailed off as she too gathered her own ki.

Once again they exploded into motion, both fighters leaving a trail of glowing energy wherever they passed. Kicks and punches were traded between the battlers as they struggled for dominance.

Khu Lon ducked over a roundhouse and retaliated with an open hand strike to the chest.

Ranma jumped over a sweep and retaliated with a descending axe kick to the shoulder.

However, the fight was clearly going in the Matriarch's favour. Her level of ki control and the sheer amount of skill she possessed were slowly winning over Ranma's speed and strength.

He knew he had to to something fast if he wanted to win the challenge.

'Damn it,' he thought, 'I didn't want to rely on Cosmos, but it seems it's the only way to finish this... she's just too good,'

A blue aura then began to him, as he began to tap into the power he had unleashed as a child. Both ki and Cosmos merging together.

'I'm not going to do this with just Cosmos,' he thought, 'that would be too unfair,'

Khu Lon was shocked. What was this new energy that she felt coming from the boy? It was more powerful than anything she had ever seen. She summoned all of her ki and prepared to sheld herself against the imminent strike.

"PEGASUS HAKAZE NO BUREIDO!!!"

A multitude of vacuum blades were shot off by Ranma, who had combined the teachings of the Yamasenken scroll his father had left behind with his own Cosmos. The result was this multiple version of the attack, where the blades had a dull edge, and were no longer lethal.

Realising that her best bet would be to avoid the attack, the Matriarch quickly used the ki she had gathered to hasten her retreat as shejumped down towards Jusenkyo.

Quickly moving from pole to pole, she avoided the blasts which cut through most of the bamboo.

Ranma followed, intent on finishing the battle.

Once again, the fighters faced each other. Standing atop the bamboo poles, they reassessed their respective opponent.

Ranma then sensed a familiar Cosmos nearby.

'Where have I felt this pattern before?' he thought to himself as his opponent seized the opportunity to put more distance between them. She had realised her best chance to defeat him was to let him tire himself out.

'Oh no...' he thought, as he finally recognised who this person was.

"THUNDER CLAW!!!"

Those were the last words he heard before being smashed into the air by Shaina. The Cobra Saint was wearing her Cloth now, and was much more prepared for him this time.

While sailing through the air, he positioned himself to land on a nearby pole.

He missed.

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A spark of power and a crimson splatter.

The Dragon Saint stood over both broken Cloths, arms slit at the wrists while his blood flowed freely onto the dead shells.

'I promised Seiya I would come back with his Mantle...' he thought to himself as the suits of armor were bathed with the scarlet liquid.

His knees almost buckled as the bloodloss began to get to him, but still he held on, intent of giving up every last drop of his essence in order to fulfill his oath.

'Why waste my blood on a Cloth with no Saint to wear it?' he thought as he recalled Mu saying he would die from this process, 'I'll just give everything to the Pegasus,' he decided with both hands over the small equine construct.

It was at that point that Shiryu's strength began to wane. His legs gave way as the exhausting effort finally took its toll on his body.

The Aries Gold Saint was quick to catch him as he fell, a caring look on his face as he thought about Shiryu's deed. He brought his right hand over the Dragon's wrists, and as he did so, the wounds magically healed as a golden glow briefly sparked around them.

"That you were willing to make this sacrifice, my friend, shows that you are indeed worthy enough to continue wearing your own Mantle," he said as he signaled his apprentice Kiki to move the Cloths inside so he could get started on the repairs while he carried the weakened teen over to a suitable resting place.

Just as he reached the threshold, a sudden flash of blue emerged from the Pegasus Cloth, as the eyes lit up unexpectedly.

"It seems that he's already uncovered the other one," he commented with a smile, while making his way inside.

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Ranma was powerless to prevent his fall. Arms flailing aimlessly, he hit the water with a resounding splash.

The Jusenkyo Guide quickly approached the spring as he had seen the incident from his cabin. "Oh no! Very bad Young Sir fall in spring! Very tragic story of..." the Guide thought about it for a second, scanning his memories to find which pool Ranma had fallen into, "...I no know what spring is..." he finally said, having drawn a blank.

Inside the spring Ranma was sinking deeper every second.

Completely immersed in darkness, he continued his descent into the seemingly endless pool. He could feel something changing within him, as if something had been unlocked and he was just encountering it for the first time.

Then he saw it. He reached out his hand into the depths...

And then, there was light.

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Author's Notes:

Well, there it is. The long awaited chapter three. I have just finished my second set of midterms and now have a couple of weeks before finals so I thought I needed to finish this before I could move on with my studies. I had been stuck on a scene here for a looong time (writer's block sucks) and didn't advance at all for about a month.

Many people told me that I was making Ranma too powerful. Not powerful in the sense that he beats everyone, but in the sense that he basically survived everything that had been thrown at him (sounds like someone familiar? Here's a hint: his name begins with an S and ends with eiya.) I never actually intended for him to come off as so strong, I hope that a few lines I included here serve to clear that subject up.

Another thing most people thought was that Ranma and Shaina would be together. Now that's a nice assumption, but you'll have to wait and see if it comes true. As you can tell, there's another woman in Ranma's life right now (for those of you who haven't read the Hades Saga, here's a minor spoiler, she's Seiya's sister), but even I'm not sure how this will evolve so don't assume anything yet.

Anyway... I probably won't write anything for the next few days but I really want to continue doing a couple of AGDM chapters. I've bee seeing the Battle City Finals and that has inspired me to write a bit of that again. Well, that and the fact that I got some COOL cards.

I really appreciate all the comments you send, and I read them all and take them into consideration, even if I haven't got the time to answer every single one, restassured that I have read it, and it has helped me with doing this. So please, keep them coming. Feedback is really important for me.

Comments, flames(haven't gotten any so far, that's good I think), anything, e-mail me at or (MSN)

Note: no e-mails above 10k or with attachments will be opened. My brother lost his entire hard drive due to a stupid virus last week and I'm not taking any chances at all.

P.S.: Ranma's attack roughly translates to wings flapping blade.


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